426 Miscellaneous. 



Additions to the Zoophytes of Devonshire. 



To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 



Gentlemen, — I observe a notice from the Rev. T. Hincks in the 

 'Annals' for last month, respecting the finding oi Sertularia attenuata, 

 Hincks, in North Devon and Cornwall. Mr. Hincks must have for- 

 gotten that he had a specimen of mine, for twelve months at least, 

 which was found on the south coast of Devon, and which was not 

 returned to me in time for publication in my * Catalogue of the 

 Zoophytes of Devonshire.' 



I must ask those gentlemen who kindly purchased my 'Catalogue' 

 to add the South Coast to the geographical distribution of this spe- 

 cies, and also to add to the freshwater species Plumatella emarginata, 

 Allm., and P.fruticosa, AUm., both of which I met with in the river 

 Clyst, Bishop's Clyst, September 5, 1866. 



I am. Gentlemen, 



Yours obediently, 

 Devon and Exeter Institution. Edward Parfitt. 



Oct. 6, 1866. 



On the Use of the Genus Potamogale. 

 By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c. 



Dr. Giinther, in the 'Record of Zoological Literature,' 1865, 

 vol. ii. p. 33, observes, "We fully agree with Dr. Gray as regards 

 the principle on which he objects to the name Potamogale ;" and 

 then proceeds, " but since he has adopted the specific name of velox, 

 given by Du Chaillu at the same time, and as in this case the generic 

 and specific names refer to the same individual specimen, succeeding 

 naturalists have no other choice but to recognize or to reject both 

 alike." 



The latter observation is incorrect, and, like several other remarks 

 on mammalia and reptiles in the work, must have been made on a 

 very imperfect recollection of the paper to which they refer. A very 

 cursory inspection of Du Chaillu' s paper in the Boston Society's 

 Proceedings (which is copied in the paper commented on in the 

 ' Annals,' vol. xvi. p. 426) would have shown Dr. Gunther that the 

 generic name of Potamogale and the specific one of velox do not 

 rest on the same basis. The animal is described in the paper, with 

 some details, under the name of Cynogale velox, quite sufficiently, 

 especially when one has the type specimen to confirm the descrip- 

 tion, to establish the specific name of velox. In a note to this de- 

 scription, Du Chaillu observes that, on account of its African habitat 

 and a difference in the shape and proportion of the tail, he thinks it 

 may be the representative of another genus, for which " I proposed 

 the name of Potamogale, preferring, however, to wait until I can 

 procure the skull and skeleton ;" so that the statement that " succeed- 

 ing naturalists have no other choice but to recognize or to reject both 

 alike" is a most erroneous one. I regret to have to make these 

 observations ; but a ' Record ' is of little use unless it is prepared 

 with care, so that naturalists can place confidence in its accuracy. 



